Antietam

GENERAL ROBERT E. LEE'Sfirst
invasion of the North culminated with the Battle of Antietam, in Maryland (or
Sharpsburg, as the South called it). The battle took place on Wednesday,
September 17, 1862, just 18 days after the Confederate victory at Second
Manassas, 40 miles to the southeast in Virginia.

Not only was this the first major Civil War engagement on
Northern soil, it was also the bloodiest single day battle in American history.

At dawn on September
17, Maj.
Gen.Joseph
Hooker's corps mounted a powerful assault on Lee's left flank. Attacks and
counterattacks swept across Miller's cornfield and fighting swirled around the
Dunker Church. Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the
Confederate center, but the Federal advantage was not followed up

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As the Federals marched toward Miller's
Cornfield north of town, the Confederates rose up in the cornfield and fired on
the advancing lines. McClellan responded by withdrawing his infantry and
training cannon on the corn. "In the time I am writing," Hooker
reported, "every stalk of corn in the northern and greater part of the
field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife, and the slain lay
in rows precisely as they had stood in their ranks a few moments before."

Hooker's troops advanced again, driving the
Confederates before them, and Jackson reported that his men were "exposed
for near an hour to a terrific storm of shell, canister, and musketry."
About 7 a.m. Jackson was re-enforced and succeeded in driving the Federals back."

"Then, in an effort to turn the
Confederate left flank, Gen. John Sedgwick's division of Gen. Edwin V. Sumner's
corps advanced into the West Woods. There Confederate troops arriving from other
parts of the field struck Sedgwick's flank, killing or wounding nearly half of
his division--about 2,255 men--within a quarter hour of point-blank fire.

During the three hours of battle, the
Confederates had stopped two Federal corps and a division from another, totaling
about 20,000 men. Approximately 10,000 men from both sides lay dead or wounded."

"At dawn some five brigades of D. H.
Hill's troops guarded this lane. Soon three brigades had been pulled out to
support Jackson in the East Woods, but they were beaten back by Union Gen.
George Greene's attack on that position. By 9:30 a.m. the Confederates were
stacking fence rails on the north side of the road to provide additional
protection from the Union forces, advancing in parade-like precision across the
field"

The left end of the Sunken Lane

The Union troops would have been attacking across here in the face of fire
from The Sunken Lane

Not that sunken

In the Sunken Lane

View of the Sunken Lane from the observation tower/monument

the bridge over which Union troops attempted to storm - for most of the day.
It would have been very hard to storm the bridge - you woudl be facing near
certain death, with no way to bring up artillery to suppress the Confederates.

Confederate rifle pits dug into the slope!

"In the afternoon, Maj. Gen. Ambrose
Burnside's corps entered the action, capturing a stone bridge over Antietam
Creek and advancing against the Confederate right. At a crucial moment, Maj.
Gen. A.P.
Hill's division arrived from Harpers
Ferry and launched a surprise counterattack, driving back Burnside and
ending the battle. Although outnumbered two-to-one, Lee committed his entire
force, while McClellan sent in less than three-quarters of his army, enabling
Lee to fight the Federals to a standstill. During the night, both armies
consolidated their lines. In spite of crippling casualties, Lee continued to
skirmish with McClellan throughout September
18, while removing his wounded south of the river.[2]

Despite having superiority of numbers, McClellan's
attacks failed to achieve concentration of mass, allowing Lee to counter by
shifting forces along interior lines to meet each challenge. Despite ample
reserve forces that could have been deployed to exploit localized successes,
McClellan failed to destroy Lee's army. Nevertheless, Lee's invasion of Maryland
was ended, and he was able to withdraw his army back to Virginia
without interference from the cautious McClellan. Although the battle was
tactically inconclusive, it had unique significance as enough of a victory to
give PresidentAbraham
Lincoln the confidence to announce his Emancipation
Proclamation."

(from wikipedia)

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